Come. Rest. Worship. Learn. Lighten.

On our Chalkboard this week:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”


In this house of six, Sunday mornings are hectic. We have substantially improved the situation over the last few years as the kids get older but still, the reality is that six people trying to have a lovely breakfast, get into their “Sunday best” and get hair and faces presentable can be challenging. Then there is always a missing shoe, socks, Bible…I am sure you know what I’m talking about. Everyone is sweating before we even leave the house.

One particular morning, all of the above had been accomplished and we were heading up the highway to the hall where we meet with other Christians on Sunday. I was tired after a very busy month of April; non-stop evenings; working full time; as well as the typical responsibilities of mothering..... it was all catching up with me. I sank into the seat of the truck, silently wish-whining that one of these days I could just stay home for a few consecutive hours, and finish something……anything. Reflexively, I opened my iPhone, flipped to my Bible app, and saw that Matt 11:28 was waiting for me. I read His words “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

An invitation. Maybe not what it was meant for, but I horned in and I took that invitation for me. Come, tired ones and worship, you will find rest in the worship. Here, join me in this yoke and it won't be hard because I am with you, sharing all your burdens.

I wonder how I could ever resist that or consider it chore-like to worship and hear others worship this gentle, lowly King who in John 15:15 calls me friend. What a friend Jesus is, the King, telling me to learn from Him, the ultimate mentor who promises that His burdens are light and then incredibly, He invites us to worship Him.

I hope you are finding His burdens light. If you are not, you may want to dig deeper, are they really His burdens or are you weighing yourself down with pressure to follow a path that isn't truly from Him. We need to be aware and wary of extras that He hasn't asked for. They aren't part of His yoke, he hasn't promised that they will be light. We can't complain that being a Christian is hard when we read this verse, it's a promise from the Lord that it won't be hard. He saved us from the heavy man-made loads. Imagine getting this invitation and saying "no, Lord, I've got this awesome load of stuff that has made me look great, sound great for years now, I can't let that go. I'll just carry these burdens, thanks though!" Thank God for a lowly, gentle Savior, inviting us to share HIS yoke, what a privilege for the grace-cleansed sinner.